Transfers of lower quality embryos based on morphological appearance result in appreciable live birth rates: a Canadian center's experience.

Objective: To determine the reproductive outcomes resulting from transfer of lower-grade blastocysts to support the practice of cryopreserving and transferring lower-grade embryos.

Design: Retrospective chart review.

Setting: Single infertility center.

Correlation of differential ascites volume with primary cytoreductive surgery outcome, lymph node involvement, and disease recurrence in advanced ovarian cancer.

Objective: High-grade serous ovarian cancer accounts for a disproportionate number of deaths from gynecologic malignancies. It typically presents at an advanced stage and with a high volume of ascites a common presenting feature. The aims of this study is to evaluate the association between ascites volume at the time of primary surgery for advanced stage ovarian cancer with surgical outcomes and patterns of recurrence.

Cysts of the canal of Nuck: A rare sonographic diagnosis.

The canal of Nuck is a remnant of a peritoneal evagination associated with the round ligament in women. Rarely, the canal of Nuck can remain patent allowing for development of cysts. These cysts are difficult to diagnose due to their rare incidence and because they are often mistaken for other causes of inguinal pain in women.

Automated microinjection of recombinant BCL-X into mouse zygotes enhances embryo development.

Progression of fertilized mammalian oocytes through cleavage, blastocyst formation and implantation depends on successful implementation of the developmental program, which becomes established during oogenesis. The identification of ooplasmic factors, which are responsible for successful embryo development, is thus crucial in designing possible molecular therapies for infertility intervention. However, systematic evaluation of molecular targets has been hampered by the lack of techniques for efficient delivery of molecules into embryos.

Developmental consequences of alternative Bcl-x splicing during preimplantation embryo development.

Elevated cell death in human preimplantation embryos is one of the cellular events compromising pregnancy rates after assisted reproductive technology treatments. We therefore explored the molecular pathways regulating cell death at the blastocyst stage in human embryos cultured in vitro. Owing to limited availability of human embryos, these pathways were further characterized in mouse blastocysts.